Gustavo Poyet and Steve Bruce were involved in a remarkable managerial spat on the touchline at the KC Stadium last night during the 1-1 draw between Hull City and Sunderland.
Poyet, the Sunderland head coach, had been sent to the stands by Mike Dean, the referee, for protesting after Jack Rodwell, his midfielder, was booked for a dive in the Hull penalty area nine minutes before the break.
The Uruguayan, who had kicked over a box of drinks bottles, approached Bruce and tried to shake the hand of his Hull counterpart, apparently implying that he had influenced the referee’s decision.
An incensed Bruce lunged towards Poyet and had to be restrained by his coaching staff. Bruce’s son, Alex, had made the challenge under which Rodwell had fallen.
At the weekend, Poyet had complained at the standard of refereeing in the Barclays Premier League after Wes Brown, the Sunderland defender, was sent off against Manchester United. Video replays showed that it was John O’Shea who had committed a foul instead, and Brown’s suspension was subsequently overturned.
The draw moved Hull five points clear of the relegation zone, a point ahead of Sunderland.
Dame N’Doye had given Hull an early lead from a free kick by Tom Huddlestone, but Rodwell equalised 13 minutes from the end from a cross by Patrick van Aanholt.
Aston Villa climbed out of the relegation zone when they beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at Villa Park with a stoppage-time penalty by Christian Benteke. It was Tim Sherwood’s first wi

Anybody who doubted Southampton’s ability to win ugly would have been
impressed with the spirit of Ronald Koeman’s team last night.
Sadio Mané’s 83rd-minute strike, the first goal his side had mustered since
early February, allowed the relief and frustration that has been building in
recent weeks to escape.
Southampton had rarely looked capable of finding a way past a resolute Crystal
Palace in a display that had redefined the term “shot-shy”.
It was not until the 40th minute that the home team finally managed to coerce
Julián Speroni, the Crystal Palace goalkeeper, into action. Eljero Elia, the
winger, found space inside the penalty area and his effort was parried by
Speroni, with Graziano Pellè sending the rebound wide of the goal.
Pellè, the man who spearheaded Southampton’s early-season success, has failed
to score in his past 11 appearances and is a s

Different teams react to defeat in different ways. While Scotland have
dismissed almost all their squad back to their clubs, as if for naughty boy
extra work, France have kept on merrily fighting among themselves and
England have just kept everything very much under the radar.
England hope to have Mike Brown back and available for the Scotland game on
Saturday week. They missed his presence at the weekend and are tracking his
fitness closely, but they have still not been given the green light to allow
him to train with the squad.
Since his concussion in the game against Italy 17 days ago, Brown has twice
started on the return-to-play protocol, which follows such an injury, and
twice suffered symptoms that have stalled his recovery.
If he completes his rehabilitation symptom-free, the earliest that Brown will
be available for training with the England squa